There's really only one way to find out. You have to keep track of which ads bring in how much (and what kind of) business. This may sound intimidating. But it doesn't have to be. While there are very sophisticated ways to develop tracking systems, chances are that you can get very helpful information from doing a few fairly basic things. Just sit down and make a list of the various ways in which you advertise your services and what you spend for each of them.

Then you'll need to figure out ways in which you can track the results you get from each of your different types of advertising -- and each different ad. Obviously, the ways in which you can track that will be different depending on which mode of advertising you're using. But the principles are really very similar, and not too complicated. At the most basic level, you can ask everyone who walks in the door how they found you. At a more sophisticated level, you can create coupons -- with different coupon codes for each ad and each publication, as well as for each person who might refer someone to you.

If you go online, tracking the results of your advertising gets even easier, sort of. There are a number of sophisticated tools that can track any number of details about how people responded to your ads, depending on how you advertise. All you have to do is use them. Once you get results, though, don't go overboard with generalizations because there are many factors involved. Let's say that maybe your print ads don't bring results. But is that because print ads don't work, or is it because your ads simply aren't compelling enough? And when it comes to networking -- if you're not getting results, is that because networking doesn't work, or because you're approaching it the wrong way? So go ahead and make your list -- and start tracking. And if you don't get the results you were hoping for, it may be time to experiment with different ads and different advertising venues and modalities to see how you can get better results.

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